In his book The Art of Game Design (2008), Schell outlines the most common strategies for achieving balance in game mechanics. Here are his 12 strategies and a brief overview of how each can be applied to online course ...

The American Association of School Librarians has just released "The 2013 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover."

This latest iteration of the Padagogy Wheel has all apps hot linked to the iTunes preview page and other sources. It also includes some QR codes that will take you to some additional resources including Graduate Attributes and Capabilities, a video of Dan Pink presenting "The Puzzle of Motivation" at TEDtalk, and a link to a post on his website that describes how to use the wheel.

"As we venture into the 21st century, we as a society, are faced with more innovation and challenge than ever before. We now live in an interconnected world, where the Internet and global communications are simultaneously uniting and isolating us as a society. How do we raise critical thinkers to best face the challenges that face our modern society?"

This infographic provides a look at how we may develop 21st century critical thinkers. Using an image of a brain with eight areas that look at skills we need to know how to use,and that correspond with 21st century skills found in the Common Core and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

In addition there are six that we as teachers should be doing within our classrooms including:

* Integrate critical thinking skills within and across all content areas

* Establish safe, intellectually risk-free learning environments

* Allow time to develop critical thinking skills.

There is also a section called "Your Students' Path to Critical Thinking" that includes 25 recommendations.

The infographic is also available as a pdf file that you may download in an 11" x 17" version at the website.

"The evolution of the web from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and now to Web 3.0 can be used a metaphor of how education should also be evolving, as a movement based on the evolution from Education 1.0 to Education 3.0."

Thank you. I'm not quite ready myself to do away with teaching professionals or brick and mortal education. I value learning in a group context. I found the second summary table more useful (pedagogy, andragogy, heutagogy)

Have you ever Googled yourself ? Have you ever checked your virtual identity? Do you know that you leave a digital footprint every time you get online? Do you know that whatever you do online is accumulated into a digital dossier traceable by others ? These and several other similar questions are but the emerging tip of the sinking iceberg.One that is packed full of concerns related to issues of our online identity and privacy issues.

This is sizzlin'! When we are first born, our physical handprint and footprint become part of our birth record. As we grow and learn, our digital footprint defines our lives: who we are, what we stand for, when we meet and greet others, where we have been, why we think as we do and how we inspire/motivate others, whether positively or negatively.

What are you leaving behind? Are you prepared to be Googled...by your parents, grandparents, friends, future employers?

Social media has become an essential part of most people’s everyday lives, from checking Facebook and Twitter to posting blogs, Pinterest listings, and uploading YouTube videos. However, and with smartphones making it easier than ever to spend time on social media networks, in what ways can these networks be leveraged to engage and build a foundation for future student learning? While the potential of distraction is there, the right social media teaching strategies can lead to creative learning, and a productive approach to making social media part of ongoing professional development.

"There seems to be a perception that online gaming has a detrimental impact on children’s development. Nothing could be further from the truth, and there are countless–and complex–reasons for this, but it also makes sense at the basic benefits of game-based learning."

"SimCity As game-based learning gains momentum in education circles, teachers increasingly want substantive proof that games are helpful for learning...GlassLab is working with commercial game companies, assessment experts, and those versed in digital classrooms to build SimCityEDU, a downloadable game designed for sixth graders."

When you ask a middle school student what computers are good for they often reply "playing games." SimCity is going to be releasing a SimCity EDU version in the fall of this year. This new version "grew out of research conducted by the MacArthur foundation on how gaming can mirror formative assessments [PDF] – measuring understanding regularly along the learning path, rather than occasionally or at the end of a unit, as is most common. Their research found that games gather data about the player as he or she makes choices within the game, affecting the outcome. In games, players “level-up,” moving on to higher levels when they’ve mastered the necessary skills; similarly teachers scaffold lessons to deepen understanding as a student grasps the easier concepts."

The post also notes that there are those who question if assessment belongs in games. That is a topic that will continued to be debated.

"Teachers regularly pose questions to their students, but the purpose and form of these questions can vary widely. This book is about a particular kind of question—one we call "essential." So, what makes a question "essential"? Let us begin by engaging you in a bit of inquiry using the following concept-attainment exercise to examine the characteristics of an essential question. The exercise has three parts, as explained in the next several paragraphs."

"Teachers regularly pose questions to their students, but the purpose and form of these questions can vary widely. This book is about a particular kind of question—one we call "essential." So, what makes a question "essential"? Let us begin by engaging you in a bit of inquiry using the following concept-attainment exercise to examine the characteristics of an essential question. The exercise has three parts, as explained in the next several paragraphs."

"The 20 breakthrough school models recognized by the Gates Foundation funded Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) took on the turnaround challenge, leveraged higher education partnerships, and improved the performance and sustainability of school networks (as outlined in part one of this three-part series). They also illustrate how blended learning supports and extends experiential learning (part two).

"This final blog illustrates ways in which NGLC blogs promote system redesign. Most of the profiled models (many referenced below) illustrate innovative staffing strategies that extend the reach of great teachers, pilot new platforms, and model new resource allocation patterns."

EdSurge had put together a great guide, Teaching Kids to Code, that provides 14 posts that look at coding from a variety of perspectives and a table that lists 40 tools for learning online programming. The table is divided into sections which include learning coding with:

* apps

* hardware

* visual blocks

* formal coding language

Many of the suggested tools are free.

There are many who suggest that all students should learn to code. If you are interested in helping students learn to code or would like to learn about a variety of resources check out this post.

In the innovation field, a rebirth of Renaissance thinking is brewing. Scientists and engineers are engaging with the arts to think creatively.

The idea is also currently reflected in the debates on re-vamping the U.S. educational system to boost the innovation skills of U.S. students. Media artist John Maeda, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, has spoken at numerous events — including before Congress — about the value of incorporating the arts to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) educational initiatives, turning STEM to “STEAM,” as Maeda has said.

Some disciplines have evolved to their own death. Engineering has evolved logically, but not necessarily culturally,” Silver of Intel and Makey Makey, who was trained as an electrical engineer, told me at PopTech. “Creativity isn’t part of that any more. So we look to where it is; we’re desperate for it. We look to art. And it’s wonderful, because it’s there.”

There's a lot of buzz out there about STEM - not only in the realm of teaching and learning, but in terms of job growth and potential, too.

According to the Smithsonian Science Education Center (the makers of the handy infographic), People who understand science and technology are smarter, more competitive, more productive, and more engaged global citizens.

"Knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math STEM_ canbe a key to a successful future. Here's why a STEM education matters and how you can inspire students to pursue STEM careers.

80 % of the fastest growing occupations in the United States depend on mastery of mathematics and scientific knowledge and skills, but students are not currently equipped to satisfy this growing need."

A great infographic that looks as the value of a STEM education...for more on the value of educating students in science, technology, engineering and math click through to the post. You may also download the infographic as a pdf.

A great infographic that looks as the value of a STEM education...for more on the value of educating students in science, technology, engineering and math click through to the post. You may also download the infographic as a pdf.

"As children, young children, everything meant playing and art. We saw the world as a playground and a canvass. It didn’t matter whether or not we could actually draw. What mattered was the thrill of creating something beautiful.

"Need more convincing that Minecraft can be a powerful tool for learning? Check out this fun video from PBS Idea Channel's Mike Rugnetta, who specifically (and very quickly) lists a number of ways the video game can and has been used to learn everything from physics to history."

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